Strength, power and endurance are critical to the firefighter. The typical body-building training programs used by the public-at-large aren't very useful for firefighters, who often must use their entire body at any given moment during their job performance. Multi-joint, whole-body exercises utilizing varying loads, muscular contraction speed and duration will benefit these professionals far more than bodybuilding-style training.
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During the game, the dynamics of paintball may change as quickly and as often as the tick on your watch, so you might have to respond just as quickly. This is why a good deal of the maneuvers seen in paintball is fast and often in short bursts. Because of this, exercises that exploit and train these motor qualities should be included in the strength and conditioning program.
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Water polo players want to either add muscle mass or lose body fat. It is common for players to gain body fat during the off-season, and then want to drop it quickly once pre-season begins. Some resort to crash or fad diets to drop body fat. This usually results in a loss of strength and muscle mass rather than body fat.
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It is difficult to play a game as demanding physically as water polo and not have the energy to perform at your best level until the sound of the buzzer. The game is interspersed with intense sprints to the ball, fighting off a "mugging" opponent in front of a blind ref and an occasional break from a foul or shot clock buzz - and all of these while not touching the bottom of the pool (yeah, right!).
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Exceptional lacrosse players require a high-carbohydrate (CHO) diet to maintain stamina. Stored carbohydrates (i.e. muscle glycogen) are the primary fuel for energy. When the stores are low, focus and timing begin to suffer. During the season, a training diet should be comprised of 55 percent CHO, 25 percent protein and 20.,
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Every golfer knows how much swinging a club involves the psyche as much as the shoulders. Understand the energy stores in the liver (i.e. liver glycogen) are the primary fuel the brain uses for energy. When the stores are low, focus and timing begin to suffer. Golfers require a high-carbohydrate (CHO) diet to maintain stamina and replenish lost liver and muscle glycogen stores during practice, competition and/or weight training.
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Back when Arnold Palmer ruled the fairways of the 1960's, he freely smoked cigarettes while walking to the green. By today's health standards, Arnie's old habit would not be a model most health advocates would endorse. The importance of nutrition in golf was highlighted in 1998 when David Duval won the Masters. He attributed his success to improving his physique by adhering to a strict fitness and dietary lifestyle change.
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Formula 1 drivers require a daily high-carbohydrate (CHO) diet to maintain stamina and replenish lost glycogen stores during practice, competition and/or weight training. Athletes who need to remain mentally focused for prolonged periods of time must keep their liver glycogen stores filled. Liver glycogen is the primary fuel that the brain uses for energy, and when the stores are low, focus and timing begin to suffer.
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The ability to concentrate for long periods of time can determine the outcome of the race in those final laps. Because F1 Racing has an element of strength-endurance, anaerobic performance, and concentration, we can take this information and apply it in a context applicable to F1 Racing. Some general guidelines to follow on a daily basis are:
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Power athletes like beach volleyball players require the majority of daily food intake to come from carbohydrates (CHO), which help maintain stamina and replenish lost glycogen stores (i.e. stored carbohydrates in muscle) in the muscle and liver during practice, a game and/or weight training. Liver glycogen is the primary fuel for energy. When the stores are low, focus and timing begin to suffer.
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In the Pre-Season, the training diet for basketball players should remain the same as the Off Season in terms of 60 percent CHO, 20 percent fat and 20 percent protein. However, the athlete should not be trying to lose or gain weight. The focus should be on maintaining the current weight and on becoming stronger and more powerful.
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Just like carbohydrates and protein, not all fats are equal in the way they affect your body. The "healthy" fats are the types required for health, energy production, regulation of cell functions and healing. Many of these are the essential fatty acids (EFAs) or the fats we need from our environment that the body does not produce, such as linoleic acid.,
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During the 1980's, the diet-rage was low-fat, high-carbohydrate. During the 1990's, the rage was low-carbohydrate, high-fat. Today, the latest and greatest "discovery" is the glycemic index (GI). As discussed above, the GI is a measurement of the way the blood sugar responds two hours after an equivalent amount of pure glucose is ingested. Foods that are digested quickly and soon appear in the bloodstream have a high GI and raise blood sugar and insulin concentrations quickly.
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Persistent fatigue, poor recovery, illness and unwanted weight loss are common amongst triathletes who fail to meet daily energy and nutrient requirements. A nutrition program must be the core of a triathlete's training program in order to fuel, adapt and recover from each workout. Nutrition is important not just to finish, but to perform at the highest level throughout the race.
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The triathlon is an intense test of physical and mental endurance, with competitions sometimes stretching to the grueling 14-hour mark. Triathletes must master three disciplines (running, swimming and cycling) to be successful, so the training has to involve two of the three disciplines regularly - and nutrition needs to be a top priority.
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